Naptha Soap

I inherited a beautiful quilt from my mother. It is an applique quilt with thousands of neat perfect stitches in wonderful patterns all over it. She got the quilt from her mother who found it at a yard sale wrapped around an old greasy motorcycle. The man couldn't believe she wanted the stained decrepid thing when she asked if it was for sale, so he gave it to her for free.

My grandmother then proceeded to use all the time honored cleaning techniques that had been passed down over generations to get the majority of the stains out of the mostly white quilt. She did a marvelous job. But some stains remained, just enough to make you realize this quilt has had some adventures.

Once I got it appraised and was told it was hand quilted and they were most impressed at the workmanship. It appraised for about four hundred dollars. Now I had to decide what to do with it. Should I put in on the bed and use it everyday? Should I put it away, carefully stored against wear and tear and keep it as an investment? I decided it was too beautiful to lock away, so on the bed it went.

I love sleeping beneath this quilt. It is so soft to feel. It is so pretty to look at. But sure enough as the days went by, I would hear a stitch occasionally give way. And then another and another. But I think that is what life is all about.

I have tried to make my life a beautiful life. A comfortable one to wrap around people. But there I was, a little worse for wear, with stitches popping out everywhere. I was hitting what would be called the 'antique" years, stained with tears, and the grime of living. But just like this quilt, I was rescued from the trials and tribulations of life and made clean again with love and understanding. God has Naptha soaped my soul and made me useful again. He has sent me a new family to wrap with warm and hold together with the threads of love. I feel so fortunate to have this quilt. And my new life. They are both prized possessions worth more than I could have ever thought possible. I feel warmly wrapped in the past as I look forward to my future.

Happy New Year!

The Year of the Story

I have decided that 2009 is going to be the Year of the Story for me. I see lots of talking going on lately, but I see very little actual communication taking place. So I decided that I am going to start posting stories.

Everyone loves stories. And everyone HAS stories. If we started to fill the web up with actual STORIES it would be such a wonderful place to visit. The thing about stories is, they need an audience to work. So I am in the process of finding out how to get an audience on the web to read -or hear-my stories. And to get this audience to contribute them too. Because I am like everyone else- I LOVE to read stories. So here is my first story:

A friend of mine has a son named Sanue. He is a beautiful mocha skinned boy who is a year and a half old. For Christmas, I wanted to get him a child's book about Senegal. I searched all over and only found one sad looking one. So I thought I would write him a story myself.

I started to research things about Senegal, where is it for one thing? And how come there are no stories about Senengal for kids for another? Do they not have any stories? Here is what I found out.

Senegal is a former French Colonyon the west coast of Africa that is now independent. It has an interesting bit of land going through the middle of it called the Gambia. Like many African nations, it has gone through lots of upheaval. It is made up of lots of different cultures too.

The most interesting thing I found out about Senegal is that not only does it have stories, it has LOTS of them. It has people whose special purpose in life is to tell stories. These people are called Griots, and they were the story tellers of the ancient warrior kings and the task was passed down from generation to generation.

The Griots were responsible for keeping the stories of the ancient kings, of their great battles and noble deeds. They were also the keepers of the folk tales. And these folk tales involved the adventures of the local animals:

Leuk- the Hare who was known for his cunning and wit

Bouki- the Hyena who was known as a thief
Choi- the Parrot who was a terrible gossip
Gayndeh- theLion who was known for his courage

They also had magical people too:

Kouss-leprechauns
Konderong-dwarfs with long beards
Doma- witches

What a rich culture the Sengalese turned out to have. They have had storytellers for thousands of years! The stories just haven't made it into a transportable form yet. They are still told in an oral tradition. How long before these stories are lost? Are there still Griots in Africa? Are they still keeping the stories alive?

What about our stories. Who will tell them to the future.

Tell your story, the audience is here waiting for you. We want to hear it. Be the Griot of the Web and send it out. They are important to us- and the to future.

Make 2009 the Year of the Story. It's easy, just start typing- or talking.